All aboard
by Jeneral2885
Summary: The NCIS New Orleans Team investigates a case of sick sailors on board a US Navy aircraft carrier. Brody returns from leave with a new hair style. PS: All credit to Zoe Mclellan for the new hairstyle.
1. Chapter 1

_Zoe Mclellan's new hairstyle (or wig?) inspired me to start this story…_

 _Richard Halsey Best was a Lieutenant Commander, USN and dive-bomber pilot. During World War II, he participated in attacks on Wade and Marcus Island (1942) but was better know for his actions during the Battle of Midway. While most of the dive bombers under then-Lieutenant Commander McClusky targeted the Japanese carrier Kaga, Best broke US Navy doctrine and steered his win men to also attack the Akagi. Best's bomb was the only one to hit the target, resulting in the sinking of the ship. Had Best not broken off from the main attack group, only the Akagi and Sōryū (struck by then Lieutenant Commander Max Leslie) would have sunk in the first strike. Best was award the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross but the inhaling of gas fumes later on damaged his flight and naval career. I name the carrier here after him._

 _This story is not based on any world events and no offence to Venezula._

 **NCIS New Orleans HQ**

 **0800 local**

"Good morning, can I help you?" Special Agent Christopher LaSalle asked as he noticed a shoulder length girl who entered the squadroom.

"Oh don't start teasing early in the morning, LaSalle," the familiar voice shot back.

"Brody?!" LaSalle exclaimed dropping his feet off the table and staring in surprise. "You've, you've…"

"Grown my hair yes," Special Agent Brody said, finishing the biscuit in her hand. "Why, Mr. Alabama boy never seen a girl with new hair?"

"No…but it's…is it real?"

"You want to be slapped, Chris? Of course it's real. I didn't take weeks of leave for nothing."

"Oh, well welcome back," he greeted but was personally enthrall by her new look. You are even more beautiful with this hairstyle.

"So, how were things here while I was away? Did you mess up anything?"

"Nothing much it has been a quite few weeks. Drug busting here and there, small murder case. Sonja's slowly learning the ropes."

"Okay, speaking of her, where's our Probie?"

"Oh, she should be here by now," he replied glancing at his watch. "It's usually me first, then you, and with…"

"Actually, I've been arriving first," the voice of Pattom Plame interjected. "Always here by seven…woah!"

"And nice to see you again, Patton," Brody greeted the Investigative Computer Specialist by bending down and giving him a hug.

"'Ello, B..rody," he hugged her back, though privately he wanted to say, "hello, beauty."

"So, you've beaten LaSalle's early morning record."

"You know, the early bird gets its worm."

"I hope it's not more of those pop-up ads."

"Worm, Agent Brody. Worm. You have much to learn," Patton shook his head, wondering why such an experienced agent failed to know what a computer worm was.

"So I know early morning records have changed but where's…"

"I'm here," Senior Special Agent Dwayne Pride said, appearing from the kitchen. "Time to roll people, medical case on the carrier USS Best."

"Medical Case? Isn't that what the doctor is for?" LaSalle asked.

"Huge medical case, almost half the crew has fallen sick. Nice hair there, Agent Brody."

 **USS Richard H. Best**

 **Off New Orleans, Gulf of Mexico**

 **Sometime later**

"Agent Pride, always good to see you, but not under such circumstances," Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Jonas Mclean greeted the NCIS Senior Agent.

"Jonas, you too. You remember Chris LaSalle?"

"Yeah, didn't you help settle that bar fight some of my crew had some years ago?"

"Your sailors gave me a bruised eye, Admiral. Nice seeing you again. This is…"

"Agent Meredith Brody," she shook hands with the task group admiral.

"Well, what's…"

"Sorry I'm late, Pride," new Probationary Agent Sonja Percy rushed up to them. "Had a huge heated argument with my landlord…"

"Everyone has their troubles, Sonja," Pride interrupted. With greetings over, the Admiral explained the situation. "I just returned to the ship yesterday and heard that several of my staff were in sickbay. At first I thought it was just stomach ache but hours later, the whole medical section was full with sailors vomiting and even puking blood. Now it's like hundreds of sailors all reporting with the same symptoms. Aviators, flight crew, intelligence and command staff, even the ship's CO. This task group is due to sail in forty eight hours to bolster the Fourth Fleet's presence. With carriers tasked to the Arabian Gulf and the Pacific, we're practically the only carrier presence for the South Atlantic, especially with the tensions around Venezula. Normally my ship's NCIS Agent would handle it but he's on leave. We need answers Pride."

"Alright Jonas," Pride nodded, "my ME is also on her way. Let's get cracking people."

"Ah, ship life," Brody commented as they headed down the ladders, "brings back memories of old days."

"You served on a carrier?" LaSalle asked.

"Short term assignment before my time on the _Moultrie_." Brody paused to reflect on her fateful time there. "No, LaSalle, sideways," she shifted her partner to the side to let a sailor pass.

"You've never done any sea duty?" she asked him.

"Nah, after shifted from NOLA vice squad, it was shore duty all the way."

"Shipboard life is cool, you get to be the 'chief of police' on board a city of five thousand. We better put the real 'N' in NCIS in you then," Brody commented.

"Hey, I know my Navy stuff. It'll be a better eye-opener for our Probie here," LaSalle winked at Percy.

"Here we are," Brody announced, opening the door the sick bay.

To Be Continued.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews._

 _I'm sort of stretching the case of a mass medical emergency onboard a carrier. To get an more realistic understanding of the Nimitz-class medical services (I base USS Best as a Nimitz class carrier), see this website, www. .mil/documents/medical/3%20-%20CAPT%20Hays%20Carrier% (join the link up). Clearly, it can't contain the whole ship's crew but yes it has a substantial amount of medical services and supplies._

 **Ship Medical Centre**

 **USS Richard H. Best**

 **1200 local**

Inside the Medical Centre, sailors were almost squashed together, with all of them having IV tubes running through their veins and oxygen masks around their jaws. Every half a minute, almost half of them would start throwing up, not just their stomach contents but blood as well. Another lot of the sick would also started sneezing loudly and coughing out phlegm. Hospital Corpsmen and doctors gingerly moved through the sea of sick sailors, but the ratio of medical personnel to patients was low. The whole scene looked like the aftermath of a virological attack, except that this one was on a ship out at sea.

"Hey you lot!" a medical corpsman or doctor in surgical gowns with a mask on growled. "you can't be here!"

"NCIS, Special Agents Pride, LaSalle, Brody and Percy," Pride flipped open his badge. "We're here to…"

"Sorry, you can't be here. You can't take one step further unless you dress up," the man growled.

"Ok, we will." After a few seconds of starring at each other, he signalled a nearly orderly and soon enough, the agents were donned in the same medical gear. Walk deeper inside the centre, the seen was the same everywhere. Having spend several rounds the centre, Pride motioned the doctor and they all gathered in a side room.

"Sorry for the earlier greeting," the doctor removed his mask. "We're all under much stress. Captain (Doctor) Sean Sinclair, Chief Medical Officer for the carrier strike group. Oh sorry, can't shake hands."

"Thanks Doctor. What's the diagnosis? How bad is it?"

"It's bad enough for the whole place to be maxed out and I'm expecting more and more sailors. It's difficult to say what it is at first. I thought it was a nasty stomach flu when the first few couple of sailors entered but then it spread to their intestines and then they showed signs of a virus with temperatures rising then coughing and sneezing non-stop. I may need to get the Captain to evacuate if it gets any worse than this."

"Nothing helping at all?"

"We're an aircraft carrier and we're stocked with the usual medical and surgical supplies. But we aren't a high tech hospital. Still..."

"Go on Doc..."

"There's one patient, the XO, Captain Carson, he had the initial symptoms but not the coughing and sneezing. He's under medication but he's not showing signs as terrible as the rest here."

Just then there was a knock on the door and Dr. Loretta Wade entered, dressed in her medical gear. "Sorry I'm late Pride; the Masters-at-arms have been acting like I'm on TSA's no-fly list." Turning to the Medical Corps doctor she greeted, "Hello Sean, so this is where they stuff you to."

"Loretta, you haven't changed one bit." That came out with a rather with a rather hostile tone

"And I expect you're still pretty childish and prank-ish," Loretta retorted.

"You two know each other?" This came from LaSalle.

"Fought with each other..." she continued

"Now now children, we're on the same side," Pride tried to clam things down.

"Right, Dwayne, I'm on your side and on the side of investigating and saving lives," Loretta folded her arms.

"Very well, NCISes. You can help out, especially you Loretta. One more doctor around won't hurt. But I'm still in charge here."

"Brody, LaSalle, go look into that XO. Doc, could you show them where that patient is? Percy, you're with me." With the orders given, the teams split.

"Man, I'd like to know the history between Loretta and that Doc," Brody commented as they followed one of the duty corpsman out of the centre.

"I'd like to know ho you got your hair," LaSalle wondered, changing the subject.

Brody rolled her eyes and shook her head. "What the heck, LaSalle, one hair-do and you have so many questions about it."

"Just wondering," he said cheerfully, though he personally still thought she was damn really prettier with this hairstyle.

"There's such thing as hair growth. And that's the end of it." Soon enough they entered another side room where a patient was lying with an IV drip and several wires monitoring his heart rate and breathing rate. There was a single doctor there who introduced himself as Lieutenant Commander (Doctor) Catherine Best.

"As Doctor Sinclair noted, the XO is progressing much better than the others. No phlegm, no coughing, no sneezing but still intestinal and stomach infection. We've taken blood and other samples, but they are still being processed. Not all our machines are working 100%."

"Anything else Doc?"

"Oh yeah, when he's awake he keeps murmuring something. We can't catch what it is."

"Better set up a tape recorder or tell us when he's awake," Brod suggested.

With nothing else to gain from that area, Brody suggested looking into the XO's cabin to se if he had ingested anything else the other sick sailors haven't. As with all other major US carriers, the XO had his own personal cabin several levels up. Just as the reached his level, they both spotted a sailor exiting the specific cabin. "Hey!" LaSalle cried. "Stop! NCIS!" The sailor only darted off down several ladderwells* that LaSalle tripped and fell down some. Brody on the other hand literally moved like the roadrunner and caught the sailor by his boots, throwing him down of the grated floor. LaSalle finally caught up with her, a bruised face evident.

"You know good thing we're on a medical case, cause you really do need help," she laughed as she secured the suspect.

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for all the reviews._

 _I hope people get the JAG reference here. Hint, JAG Season 7._

 **USS Richard H. Best Medical Centre**

 **Off Louisiana**

"Ow…you…owe me a…cheek…face," LaSalle exclaimed as he pressed the ice pack against his cheek as the Hospital Corpsman Third Class applied ointment on his lips. "And a cut lip as well."

Meredith Brody tried not to laugh as she stared at the handcuffed sailor. "Ship's Serviceman Third Class Ronald Hastings, you have some story to say about snooping around the XO's room." The sailor just kept silent and kept his down. "You know, I'm usually a patient girl but I haven't had lunch yet. So speak up SH3 Hastings."

"I wanna see a JAG."

"Oh no, what you're seeing is us. So speak up." The sailor fell silent again and Brody moved, dragging the sailor up, steering him towards hatch. "Now, you say something before I throw you there and let the Corpsmen sit you next to the coughing patients."

"Okay, Okay," the sailor grunted and was allowed to sit back down. "I hate the XO ok? Actually, I hate this whole ship. The XO was a super hard-ass on me and got me into the brig a few weeks back. I was in his stateroom to play a trick on him that's all."

"Oh really. And the sailors sick over there?"

"Look, lady, I know nothing about it. I guess I'm lucky I didn't…ow!" Brody rapped his cuffed hands. "It's Agent Brody, or ma'am. And that's for my partner."

"Look, ma'am, I really don't know. Check my records."

"Yeah, he checks on. One disobedient sailor, but nothing to do with food or drug poisoning of sailors," LaSalle informed Pride fifteen minutes later. "But he's going back in the brig for that earlier…ow…stunt."

"Ok, well no leads there. Loretta has pulled out some samples that Sebastian can test. They are running test here as well but we definitely want to get to the bottom of this. Percy and I will head back to NOLA to bring the samples, you and Brody work on the case here."

"Here?! As in stay aboard this ship?"

"It's a carrier LaSalle. What's the big deal? They do good food here, unless all the chefs are in sick bay. And if we have to stay aboard, the bunks are fine."

"But…"

"LaSalle, orders." With that, Pride and Percy moved up the ladders to the flight deck.

"Why LaSalle scared of an aircraft carrier? You're lucky to have me," before he could respond, Brody darted down another set of ladders.

Yup, I'm sure am, he thought. Just looking at your new hair…

 **Jefferson Parish Forensic Examiner's Office**

 **A hour later**

"Hello? Sebastian? Mr. Lund? Anyone there?" Sonja Percy called as she enter the cluttered room. There were boxes, plastic boxes, plastic bags and various items filling up the place with only an open path in one corner. Percy followed this trail until she found the forensic examiner crouched under a table with a tube.

"What on earth are you doing?" Sebastian didn't reply instantly but suddenly kicked his feet when the junior Special Agent touched him. "Ah, what, what, what?" he exclaimed as he withdrew the tube from his mouth.

"Being squeezed into a corner and living off basic nutrients. Helps to connect you to nature. It also helps to cleanse you body of impurity.."

"Sebastian, I've some icky stuff from the carrier and I don't think I want to hold it much longer," Percy interjected.

"Ah, right. Carrier. Sick sailors. Unable to operate well. Not a good sign. Place it near my centrifuge over there," he instructed. "I'll have the results on time, on budget." Percy was about to leave when Sebastian yelled that he hadn't finished. "Geez, any more antics, mister?"

"I took the chance to trace down the carrier's recent movements and personnel. The carrier has moved out of Norfolk, did some training of Florida, then moved to the 4th Fleet AOR*, visiting Panama, then moving back out to the Atlantic and then off Louisiana. People, well, not easy to track the movements of 5000 sailors. At least over 100 joined the ship in the last few weeks while it was at sea. I have a…"

"Better bring Pride in," Percy interjected and clicked on the controller several times only to get static. Sebastian eventually took the device and Pride showed up on the screen. "As I was saying, there's a list of sailors' movements. But that's your role, not mine."

"Actually, our duo onboard can check out. How about ship stores?"

"Pride, you just know how to spoil someone's break," Sebastian groaned.

 **USS Richard Best**

 **Several hours later**

"Gee, how many more sailors?" LaSalle asked.

"Actually, this is the last one. What's wrong with you? You're an NCIS, not some junior cop."

"Almost all of my NCIS work was on dry land, not on a ship with narrow corridors," he replied.

"Passageway," Brody corrected. "Well, now you're in the Navy now. Commander Charles Gibson," she called and a sailor in flight suit appeared. "Hello...oh my gosh, you changed from Legalman to NCIS Agent?"

"Excuse me?" Brody replied.

"Oh, sorry, uh ma'am, I mistook you for a Legalman I met many years ago on the Patrick Henry."

Brody didn't reply as she read aloud from the folder, "Commander Charles Spencer Gibson, XO of HSM-36 Night Badgers. Previously serving aboard the Seahawk, Patrick Henry. Disciplined for inappropriate action towards a female enlisted sailor during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Transferred to reserve status, recently requested to transfer back to active duty."

"That's me."

"Rating only average in performance in active and reserve billets."

"Well, I still made it to XO."

"That's ma'am," LaSalle interjected.

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Says here you have a double degree in Biochemistry and Mechanical Engineering. Interesting."

"Yes ma'am, burnt nights to get that."

"Also says here you played lots of pranks on fellow students, including getting some hospitalised with food poisoning."

The Commander's expression explicitly changed as he asked, "Am I being charged here, Special Agent? Because if so, you have read me any Article 31 rights and I know enough that's a violation."

"Oh, did I say anything yet, Commander?"

"Maybe or maybe not. Are we done with going through my history? Well I have to get back to my squadron, lest I get another black mark. Thanks," he got out and stormed out.

"Wasn't your class interrogators work, and you didn't ask him about the medical case downstairs."

"I didn't have to. His eyes and hands showed it all. Could be up to something but let's she what he does. Anyway, my stomach is growling. Hope they have enough Culinary Specialists." As both of them made their way to one of the galleys, an announcement blared, informing everyone the ship was making manoeuvres to get way from commercial shipping. As the speed increased, LaSalle suddenly lost his balance and crashed into his partner...

To Be Continued.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for all the reviews._

 _Not an expert on naval terminology so excuse me if I get any term incorrect._

 **USS Richard Best**

"LaSalle! Chris LaSalle!" Brody cried as his body pressed against her. "Chris LaSalle, can you please get up, you're crushing my…" She didn't want to say the words 'boobs' but luckily her partner managed to get up, but still balanced unsteadily. "Sorry…" he commented. "It's just that damn sudden movement."

"It's your old land-based mode, this isn't even a heavy sea state," Brody replied, wanting to rub her sore breasts but thought better of it. "You really need to get the 'Navy' part of NCIS inside you," she repeated herself as she helped and led the Alabamian towards one of the ship's galley. Just as they collected their meat casserole and drinks, Brody's phone buzzed.

"Yeah Sebastian," she answered wolfing down a huge scoop of the messy food.

"How's it going aboard sailors?"

"Well, it's cool being back a US Navy vessel and having to teach our Alamba boy how to walk."

"I am perfectly fine and capable of…what's up?" LaSalle changed the subject.

"Well, I'm still analysing the body samples that Loretta sent me, but they should be ready really soon. I know you were scanning through the sailors who just joined the fleet. As I told our newbie here, it's more you job than mine but I just had a hunch after my body flushing exercises…"

"Body flushing?" Both agents asked simultaneously.

"Helps to connect you to nature. You should..."

"Is there a real reason you called?" Brody asked, definitely not wanting to hear his long-winded stories again.

"As I was saying, I had a hunch so I used my new programme to track for any anomalies in personnel movements. One certain Charlie Gibson, a new XO on board the Best was wandering off away from the usual R&R locations..." before the forensic scientist could continue, Brody has leaped out of her seat and dashed through passageways and ladderwalls, leaving LaSalle panting be hind her. After passing many ladderwalls, Brody made to the ship's ready room. "Where's Commander Gibson?" She called out to the men relaxing there.

"Look lady, you're sweating. Why don't you and I..." the Lieutenant suddenly Brody's badge.

"Commander Gibson's readying for an evening flight," a Lieutenant Commander answered properly. "You want me to show you to..." but Brody had already darted off again, nearly colliding into LaSalle and other personnel in the process. Given that the majority of the crew were in the sick bay, there weren't much activity or planes on the flight except for one lonely MH-60S Seahawk that was about to launch. "Hey, NCIS! Cease your operations!" Brody yelled as best as she over the noise of the rotary blades.

"Ma'am, ma'am, you shouldn't be here," a Yellow-shirt ran up to her and tried to hold her back but to no avail. Brody sprinted like an Olympic athlete and managed to grab the open side door of the Seahawk just as it lifted off. The helicopter swayed to both sides, but Brody made it forward to the pilots' seats. "NCIS! Get this helicopter down and cease operations now!" she yelled at Gibson but continued flying, again twisting the helicopter back and forth. "I said, get it back down mister!" She raised her Glock 26 but he still disobeyed her. Brody then reached over to the co-pilot's seat and he yelled, "Hey! Don't you dare…" But the NCIS Agent had switch flight controls over to that side. Gibson tried to smack away Brody's hand but she fought him off with just her right arm while she manoeuvred the Seahawk down. "What you…no you don't…" Suddenly LaSalle was outside the window, point his P228 at the window. "Yes you do," Brody held her service weapon against Gibson.

 **USS Richard Best NCIS office**

 **Minutes Later**

"Some pilot you are," Gibson remarked, rubbing his bruised armed and face.

"Some way to get off a carrier, file a fake flight plan but not including your flight commander or crew," Brody retorted.

"And some Navy officer you are. Took time to visit several research labs and hospitals while you were on liberty in Panama. Betcha you have something to do which the sick sailors right?" LaSalle added.

"I wanna see a JAG," Gibson folded his arms.

"Oh we heard that one before," Brody remarked.

"List agents, I won't…ok, I'm not a naval officer. I'm a CIA officer."

"Oh spare me another story," Brody snorted then grabbed him as she saw him extract something. "What's this?"

"The case I'm working on," He replied. "Your case as well. Look call this number, ask the Mr. Canes on the other line any fact you know about your Agent Pride; he has worked with him before."

 **USS Richard Best**

 **Medical Bay**

"So you devote yourself to dead bodies now," Captain (Doctor) Sinclair remarked to Loretta Wade.

"Humans, people are still people, alive or passed away," Loretta shot back to her former colleague.

"Better sick and alive than resting on an autopsy tab..," Before Sinclair could finish his retort, the machines linked to a nearby sailor started beeping wildly.

"Blood pressure rising rapidly!" A senior Corpsmen called. "170/108, now 185/115…" Sinclair immediately ordered drugs to be administered to help lower the blood pressure but that was to no avail. After more unsuccessful attempts, it was clear that the sailor was having a cardiac arrest. "Give me 250…clear! 300 clear!""

 **USS Richard Best NCIS office**

 **The same time**

"King, you sure about this?" LaSalle asked sceptically. They had banished the fake Commander Gibson, whose real name was Carl Tibbins, to another room.

"Canes wasn't exactly the friendly type we I worked with as a Probie," Pride replied. "But his protégé Tibbins is smart. Look, whatever that guy has, get everything to the last page off; it could solve our case. I'll join you guys ASAP."

"So, you convinced now?" Tibbins gave them a smug look.

"So what does your hard disk drive contain?" Brody shot back and they both received a huge folder in return. "Mutated drug?"

"We've been tracked some experimental drugs for a while in conjunction with the DEA," Tibbins explained. "Initially, we thought it was just method of avoiding detection by narcotics sensors and officials but it was bigger than that, some sort of a weapon to render personnel useless. You make people sick for months or even years, you stop deployment of ships like this…"

"So what did you find in Panama?" Brody asked.

"Nothing illegal so far. I came on board to…" The three of them stop to see Loretta follow a trolley wheeled out. "It's now from a case of sick sailors to a dead one…"" she remarked.

To Be Continued

PS: I don't think I got the heart attack scene correct. Add the accurate description if you know it. Thanks.


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